Ukraine’s Navy does not confirm reports on U.S. being “surprised” with Moskva cruiser sinking

This was stated on national television by the spokesman for the Ukrainian Navy, Dmytro Pletenchuk, who addressed a journalist’s question about the relevant report, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

“As for the reaction from our partners, at our level, at the level of the Navy, we cannot confirm this information in any way. At that moment – ​​it was the outset of a full-scale invasion – in fact, the situation was quite dynamic and depended on many vectors, many decisions, both on land and at sea,” he noted.

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The spokesman for the Ukrainian Navy stated that at that time, the force was executing its missions in accordance with the regulatory framework and certain orders.

“And we we were doing that, as you can see, quite successfully. As for the results – indeed, it was a turning point, but the Russians did not immediately understand this hint. Even after that, we were forced to destroy another ship – the Vasil Bekh, in the same area, so that the Russians would finally believe and see for themselves that this section of the sea, this water area was closed to them,” Pletenchuk said.

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According to the official, only after that did the situation begin to change in the northern part of the Black Sea. First of all, this reduced Russia’s potential landing capabilities threatening the Ukrainian coastline.

As reported, on April 13, 2022, Ukrainian Neptune missiles hit the $750 million flagship of the Black Sea Fleet, the Moskva missile cruiser. The vessel sank on April 14. The Russian Defense Ministry publicly acknowledged five deaths on board the ship.

According to the then Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, eks Danilov, at the time of the attack, there were 510 crew on the Moskva, of whom 58 survived.

A New York Times article recently claimed, citing unnamed American sources, that the U.S. side expressed surprise, anger, and panic as the Ukrainians sank Russia's warship in the Black Sea.